Southern Trivial Pursuit

[Brickell]

I've heard the same thing said about Eatonville, FL in the Orlando metro. It is the childhood home of author Zora Neale Hurston. Look for the TV movie "Their Eyes Were Watching God" coming up on ABC I think. It's based on one of her novels.

http://fcit.usf.edu/florida/lessons/hurston/hurston.htm

Eatonville

Eatonville, Florida is a small community of great significance to African-American history and culture. Of the more than one hundred black towns founded between 1865 and 1900, fewer than twelve remain today. Eatonville is the oldest.

Reconstruction after the Civil War was a time of joy and for building a better way of living for blacks. At first, newly freed blacks began to establish homes and businesses in white communities. By the 1800s, tensions from this new coexistence gave rise to segregation, the separation of blacks to a particular area in the community.

Rather than endure the indignities of restriction, some blacks established race colonies, communities of their own. These colonies often resembled extended families. They were centered on education and religion. Eatonville was a community founded in this tradition.

more info here

http://www.aaregistry.com/african_american...FUBU_Black_town

[Aessotariq]

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue holds the largest supply of snake antivenin in the United States, and it is the only antivenin bank in the nation operated by a fire department.

http://server.firehouse.com/news/2001/7/18_FHantivenin.html

[rocket9561]

The first time the official United Nations met outside of New York City was in Nashville in 1976.

[jandar]

Carrabelle, Florida has the world's smallest police station:

http://www.carrabelle.org/worldssmallestpolicestation.asp

[goodbye]

Fort Jackson, located in Columbia, South Carolina, is the largest military training base in the country.

[goodbye]

Golf was first played in the United States in Charleston, South Carolina. The South Carolina Golf Club was formed in 1786, this was the first golf club.

[goodbye]

The town of Abbeville, South Carolina, is known as

[Brickell]

1914 The world's first scheduled airline service with pilot Antony Jannus begins service from St. Petersburg to Tampa on January 1.

Source

[bobliocatt]

The controversial "Ivanab!tch Vodka" (Vodka with an attitude) is produced by International Spirits, LLC in the commonly known conservative city of Jacksonville, FL. Signature drinks include the Dirty "beotch", the Power "beotch" and the Twisted "beotch". Since the logo has been banned from being on Florida billboards, the company leases truck trailers to ride down highways, showcasing their logo & advertisments.

[zed]

Everybody knows about the California Gold Rush in 1848, the Comstock Lode, etc. But where was America's first gold rush??

In the mountains of North Georgia, centered around the town of Dahlonega! Gold was discovered in 1828 and the strike has been called the purest vein in the world. In 1835 the US Mint began operating a facility in Dahlonega that produced six million dollars in gold coin. It was closed by the Confederate government in 1861. Most large scale mining in the area had ceased by 1858.

The gold dome of the Atlanta State Capitol was a 1958 gift from the citizens of Dahlonega.

Incidentally it was also this discovery that led to the Cherokee expulsion from Georgia and the "Trail of Tears". Cherokee controlled most of the land in the region and the Georgia legislature began working toward their removal almost immediately after the gold discoveries.

[monsoon]

Actually the first gold rush in the United States was in the Charlotte area where gold was discovered in the 1700s. (I realize the Ga debates this) It was also the largest until surpassed by the one in California in the 1840s. Like Georgia, the US Mint built a Mint in Charlotte which closed during the civil war and was never opened.

Downtown Charlotte is riddled with the old mine shafts, but they are sealed off from the public. The original mint building was preserved and is the home of the Mint Museum today.

[nashvol85]

Something interesting I just found...

If the entire population of Tennessee was forced into an area as dense in population as New York city, it would only take up about 221.25 square miles...and would fit inside Loudoun County.

Also, if you filled the entire state's land area with people with the same density as New York city, the population would be 1,088,248,329 people...simply amazing!

[jandar]

The area around Pensacola and Ft Caroline (in what is now Jacksonville) were settled by Europeans a few years before the Spanish founded St Augustine.

Pensacola in 1559-1561 (abandoned due to Hurricanes)

Jacksonville in 1562, attacked by the Spanish in 1565 and then executed upon surrender.

[Aessotariq]

Miami, incorporated in 1896, is the only major city in the US to be founded by a woman. Julia Tuttle arrived at a time when the southern part of Florida was only accessible by boat and "Miami" was a sleepy mosquito-infested outpost at the mouth of a narrow river. She bought property along the banks of the Miami River, and she tried to convince a skeptical Henry Flagler to extend his East Coast Railroad south to Miami (it ended in Palm Beach). A harsh winter freeze in 1894 would destroy Florida's citrus crop in the central and northern parts of the state, but southern Florida was unaffected. Tuttle sent Flagler some unaffected orange fruit as proof, and with that, the railroad was on its way to Miami. The rest is history.

She died in 1898, just two years after the city she helped create was born. I don't think she could have ever imagined the transformation that would take place within the next few decades.

[Mr. N]

Fontana Dam which is located in Graham County, North Carolina in the mountain area of the state, is the largest dam in the Eastern part of United States.

[northernbizzkit1]

[triadcat]

I believe that the NC Symphony is the first state supported symphony in the U.S.

The Fayetteville Symphony is the oldest "community" orchestra in N.C. ,even though everyone in the symphony gets some type of payment.

PEPSI was invented down in New Bern, North Carolina.

Krispy-Kreme was started in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

UNC-Chapel Hill is the oldest state supported university to open it's door to students.

UGA was chartered first, but UNC was the first to enroll students.

[ironchapman]

The Okeefenokee is largest swamp outside of the Everglades.

Beaufort, SC is the second oldest incorporated city in the US.

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse is the tallest in the nation and the second tallest in the world. (the tallest is in Italy)

Cape Charles Lighthouse in VA, is the second tallest in the nation.

Tybee Island Light Station is the third oldest light station in America.

And finally, the US government built a decoy Richmond Int'l Airport during WWII to fool any enemy fighters. I believe it still remains just outside the city limits.

[ironchapman]

Upon rebuilding Atlanta after it burned, residents were disappointed that the city had, I believe, $1.48 of Confederate money left in the city's treasury.

Atlanta went through two names before being named Atlanta:

-Terminus, aftr the railroad terminus there.

-Marthasville, after the gov's daughter. It was incorporated under this name.

[Spartan]

Atlanta is actually Georgia's 5th capital city. The previous capitals were: Savannah, Augusta, Louisville, and Milledgeville.

[ironchapman]

Mongomery County, Alabama and its seat, Montgomery, are named for two different people.

-The county is named for Lemuel P. Montgomery, a soldier killed in the Battle of Horseshoe Bend in the War of 1812.

- The city is named for Gen. Richard Montgomery, a general in the American Revolution.

P.S. GA's last Capital, Milledgeville, still has the old State and Governor's House. SHerman spared it on his March to the Sea.

[asonj23]

Here is some Jacksonville Trivia for everyone

- The worlds first Technicolor movie was filmed here. On that note, Jacksonville used to be a mecca for movies in the silent era and before moving pictures were developed. The great fire of 1901 and the california boom did a lot to pull out the moviemakers. Jacksonville is, however, a very popular destination for moviemakers and commercials.

"The Manchurian Candidate" (2004), starring Denzel Washington, Meryl Streep.

[ironchapman]

-A conservative mayor also helped to move the industry out of Jax.

A smart move, I might add.

-In order to create the burning of Atlanta scene in the original Gone With the Wind movie, the crew burned the New City Skyline set from King Kong.

-Also in the movie, while Rhett is carrying Scarlett through the burning Atlanta, Scarlett is played by a male stuntman. I've met a stuntman who worked with said stuntman on the movie.

-Blount County, Alabama was formed in 1818, and it is older than the state itself.

(Alabama entered the Union in 1819)

-Alabama's Constitution is the longest state Constitution in the Nation. It has had over 700 amendments raified for it since it was adopted in 1901.

[ironchapman]

Fulton County GA has some odd facts involving its courthouses:

-In GA, the largest Gov't building is not the Capitol. It is the Fulton County (the one with ATL as the seat for those who didn't know) Courthouse.

-The first Fulton Co. Courthouse served three purposes at the same time:

----County Courthouse

----ATL city hall

----For a while after the Civil War, GA state house

[Miesian Corners]

Asheville, NC retained the highest per capita debt of any city in the country after the Crash of '29, yet the city vowed to pay every cent it owed. Creditors received their payments and Asheville struggled until all bonds were paid in full in 1977.